US police officer detained in Taiwan for flying with gun

LOS ANGELES: An off-duty police officer from California has been detained in Taiwan for a week after alerting authorities that she had inadvertently flown there with a gun in her hand luggage, officials said Thursday.

Officer Noell Grant arrived in Taiwan on April 13, intending to vacation with her family, and notified authorities at the airport that she had mistakenly left a personal handgun in her carry-on bag, Lieutenant Saul Rodriguez, of the Santa Monica police department, told AFP.

He said Grant has been barred from leaving Taiwan until the matter is resolved, but was free to move about.

Federal officials on Thursday acknowledged that proper security procedures at the Los Angeles airport were clearly not followed given that Grant was able to board the flight with her gun.

Nico Melendez, of the Transportation Security Administration, said authorities had “determined standard procedures were not followed and a police officer did in fact pass through the (airport) checkpoint with a firearm.”

Rodriguez said it was unclear whether Grant would face disciplinary measures on her return to California.--AFP